1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aqueous ink having a yellow hue suitable for ink jet recording, and an ink cartridge and an ink jet recording method each using the aqueous ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has been demanded that an image recorded by an ink jet mode have higher lightfastness. To cope with such growing demand, an investigation has been vigorously conducted on an ink jet ink using a pigment as a coloring material. However, an image recorded with a pigment ink generally has lower color developability than that of an image recorded with a dye ink using a dye as a coloring material, and hence it has been a subject to achieve both its fastness property and color developability. Particularly in the case of an image to be recorded with an ink having a yellow hue (yellow ink), it has been known that its lightfastness and color developability are in a trade-off relationship. Accordingly, it has been necessary to develop a yellow ink capable of recording an image that simultaneously satisfies lightfastness and color developability.
C.I. Pigment Yellow 74 or 128 has been frequently used heretofore as a yellow pigment to be used in an ink jet ink. However, none of the pigments has been able to achieve both lightfastness and color developability. In view of the foregoing, in recent years, an investigation has been conducted on the use of C.I. Pigment Yellow 213 considered to be excellent in lightfastness as compared with other yellow pigments. For example, there has been a proposal concerning a yellow ink using C.I. Pigment Yellow 213 or 155 as a coloring material, the ink being capable of recording an image improved in lightfastness and color developability (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-266568). There has also been a proposal concerning an ink using C.I. Pigment Yellow 213 and another pigment (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-001478 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-248287).